BEI INDEX STARTS WEAKER ON PROFIT TAKING MOVES

Jakarta, Aug. 18 (ANTARA) - The Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) here early Tuesday weakened as investors actively released their shares on profit taking moves.

The BEI index sharply fell 2.96 percent or 70.844 points to 2,317.572 points, and the LQ-45 index went down 16.054 points or 3.43 percent to 450.616 points.

The Indonesian stocks depreciated because investors sold commodity and plantation sector shares which had significantly rallied last week, Khrisna Dwi Setiawan, a stock analyst of PT Valbury Asia Securities, said here on Tuesday morning.

They sold their shares to make profits and there were no negative impacts on the market, he said.

The market was sound from the internal factor and the country was event considered as a potential market, he said. In the external market, the US government's bond offers were responded positively by the wide public.

He believed the domestic stock market still had a chance to strengthen again as the market condition was positive.

"We are sure the market remains positive, we just have to wait for investors to buy shares again at the Indonesian bourse," he said.

The Indonesian currency traded at Rp10,005-Rp10,015 per US dollar, down 80 points from Rp9,925-Rp9,945 per US dollar at the market's close last weekend.